When required to pull the trigger to field strip a pistol, point the gun at a box of phone books, a sand bucket or other safe bullet catcher. That way, you can afford to make a mistake in checking the chamber.
It is best to handle a gun as you would a loaded gun ; That way, making sure it is not loaded is not so crucial.

You NEVER pull the trigger on any weapon before checking for an empty chamber. Pointing the weapon at a safe backstop and having the weapon fire would show that the operator was an unsafe person. This habit is NOT condoned by ANY member of this Forum, with a half an ounce of sense!!

You NEVER pull the trigger on any weapon before checking for an empty chamber. Pointing the weapon at a safe backstop and having the weapon fire would show that the operator was an unsafe person. This habit is NOT condoned by ANY member of this Forum, with a half an ounce of sense!!

Billy bob, the post you replied to was meant for myself as i am extremely anal about my firearms. I check, double check, and triple check my reciever b4 field stripping my xd40, reason being i have to pull the trigger to remove the slide. I never receive a gun from someone without pulling the slide back and locked and actually get a little irritated if a person hands me a weapon without clearing it and leaving the chamber open for me. Old military habits and habits taught to me since a young age by my father. Not to mention you never turn your weapon over to someone with ammunition, never now when they will turn it on you these days.

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DON'T BUY DELL!!!!!

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Always physically look into the chamber. To many times people drop the magazine and rack the slide back and assume it is empty. Sometimes a live round will be stuck in the chamber. It happens unfortunitly.

I find that only being able to shoot competively (no sole range plinking) means really LOOKING into the chamber becomes a habitual reflex...an IPSC RO will chew you out well & good if you don't. Plus all the other competitors also lol

A negligent discharge by anyone would put at risk the use of the only large range in Sydney by all resident pistol/rifle clubs, as the Govt has been looking for an excuse to close it down since 1988 and this would provide the perfect reason....the media would run like a bull with this sort of story. Open season on evil shooters, woohoo! Which kinda ingrains the absolute necessity of safety. Would I want several hundred armed & incredibly pissed-off shooters after my arse?

If I ever used the 'bucket' example at home and I hadn't double/triple/quadruple checked the chamber first and a ND ensued, well I'd be arrested, jailed and lose all firearms & my licence probably faster than it took to write this, heh.

So, imo a bucket is pretty superfluous. Just checkit, 4x+ if necessary

My dad was cleaning a .22 rifle and even though he pulled the bolt back many times, a bullet was still stuck in the chamber. It went off during cleaning and struck him in the chest only a few millimeters from his heart. He was out of the hospital walking around in a couple of days luckily but I finally understood all the gun safety stuff he was hammering into my brain. This happened when I was about 7, and it happened because he got too comfortable around firearms and didn't visually inspect the chamber.

Anybody ever hear the riddle- Why does it take 500,000 sperm to fertilize one egg?

Being male, they will not stop to ask for directions.

Speaking of directions- almost EVERY new firearm comes with a set of directions. They are called a User's Manual. Yeah, I know- but sit down and read the thing anyway. Following the directions is even more productive (why didn't anyone tell me I should not load a round directly into the chamber?? BECAUSE THE BOOK SAID THAT!)

Seriously, post is not meant to be snide- but the basic care and operation is pretty well covered- things to keep from hurting your gun- or hurting yourself. Over time I have seen such things as running a blued revolver thru a dishwasher, using K-Y jelly (water based lube) on a firearm, trying to shoot 30-30 out of a 30-06, and loading a .50 cal muzzleloader with Bullseye pistol powder. Don't think ANY of those was in the owner's manual.

The main enemies of firearms are moisture, rust, liberals, and home gunsmiths.

so why KY jelly, why not astroglyse, it amkes other things slick should work well on a slide........Just joking, had to do it

__________________
DON'T BUY DELL!!!!!

BEWARE!!! The toes you step on today may be connected to the ass you kiss tomorrow.